DANCE.

Korean troupe captures spirit, soul of the country

"The Spirit of Korean Dance" is the title of the Cho Heung Dong Dance Company's Chicago debut concert, but it also captures the soul of a country seeking to balance the sacred and secular worlds.

The Korean troupe of 15 dancers and musicians will perform Shamanistic, Buddhist and regional folk dances Saturday in Northeastern Illinois University's newly renovated, 500-seat auditorium. A joint effort of Chicago's Korean American Community Services and New York's Korea Society, this event is part of an educational effort to illustrate the traditions of dance and music as part of Korean life.

Cho's Seoul, Korea-based company merges indigenous instruments, steps rooted in spiritual and harvest rituals and elaborate costumes. Cho -- a choreographer for the 1998 Olympic Games in Seoul -- says these dances reflect Korean history as well as influences from China and Buddhism. He says the "Sung mu" ("Monk's Dance") is one of the country's most revered works because it "depicts the emotions of a monk formed between the monastic and mundane worlds."

On the Chicago program, viewers will experience the poetic "Sxng Mu" ("Buddhist Drum Dance"), originally performed by female monks. Its signature movement is a long cloth traversing empty space and deeply engaged with the changing drum rhythms. The dancer is meant to embody the serene beauty of Buddhist philosophy and her desire to transcend the temporal realm and enter a sacred universe.

"P'ungmulnori" ("The Farmers Dance") illustrates how Korean peasants prayed for peace and abundance by singing and dancing after each harvest. This event took place in an open square of the village and consisted of group dances and music using percussion instruments such as the large gong (ching), small gong (kkwaenggari), hourglass-shaped drum (changgo) and barrel drum (puk).

The "T'aep'yxngmu" ("Dance of Peace") dates to the Chosxn Dynasty (1392-1910) and is considered Korea's national dance. It originates from a Korean shaman ritual celebrating abundant harvest, peace and prosperity. These ideas are conveyed through fast footwork and lustrous costumes.

Audiences will experience the spectrum of Korean dance, which includes elegant court dances, dynamic folk dances, Buddhist movements typically performed in temples and the trancelike Shamanistic ritual dances.

"A unique characteristic of Korean dance is precedence of rhythm over movement," Cho says. "The fact that all of the past masters of Korean dance were also excellent drummers [attests to this]."

Cho, who began dancing at age 9, recalls spontaneously moving whenever he heard live drummers. He went on to play the hourglass drum.

The hand-made costumes, accessories and masks are part of the experience.

The fans in the all-female "Chanyxng" dance, for example, symbolize the soul of goddesses and are made of delicate Korean drawing paper. In this case, the costumes are understated to reflect the beauty of simplicity. And "Hanryang Mu," a dance celebrating the Korean intelligentsia, is performed in scholarly garb, which includes a gat (hat) and dopo, (gentleman's robe). The dance, with its themes of vanity and emptiness in life, centers on the graceful dignity of those devoted to education.

"The Cho Heung Dong Dance Company does a great job of being accessible to general audiences," says Soo Ji Min, executive director of the non-profit Korean American Community Services, located in the Albany Park area. "It brings an energetic, flamboyant spontaneity to traditional dances."